Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 130 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 29.7% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $203.14. 1,975,567 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,712,742. The company has a market cap of $81.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $208.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.